Master Lock Electronic Padlocks - Can they be disabled?

[DerbyDad03]

I watched the videos at this site and I wonder if these electronic locks could be tampered with in a way that would disable them.

The battery cannot be removed when the lock is locked but they provide a "battery jump" feature in case the battery dies while the lock is locked. You pull the battery slot out just a little and use a new battery to "jump" the lock.

My concern would be the ability for someone to break the battery slot while in that position, thus disabling the lock.

Watch the "battery jump" video. Seems to me that the slot could be intentionally damaged when in the "jump" position which might render the lock inoperable. For example, what if I took a pair of pliers and mangled the battery slot so it couldn't be pushed back in and the jump contacts were destroyed?

Perhaps a live battery would still power the lock even if the vandal opened the slot to the jump position and then mangled it. Obviously a dead battery wouldn't so it seems that at least if the timing was right, the lock could be disabled in that case.

I think i'll give Master Lock a call and see what they say.

[Davej]

Well sure. Take an angle grinder and cut the entire lock into tiny pieces or connect 120VAC to the battery connectors.

[recyclebinned]

How about if I dunked it in a tub of water or poured crazy glue down along the shackle or zapped it with a taser or electric cord or rubbed it with a heavy duty magnet?

[DerbyDad03]

I was thinking more of a simple, non-powered method of disabling them. I was actually wondering if there was a design flaw in this particular lock that made them specifically susceptible to a quick and easy disabling.

The website mentioned "lockers" a few times, so I was thinking something easily accomplished by a student. Crazy glue would work but a taser might be be a little tough for a 10th grader to get their hands on.

Again, I was leaning more towards the design flaw of the battery slot being easily broken.

[DerbyDad03]

I was thinking more in line with a simple way to disable them, perhaps something a high school kid pranking a classmate might do, basically nothing requiring power tools.

Pulling out an angle grinder In a locker room or hallway might attract some attention. Getting 120VAC to trailer in a parking lot might also be problematic.

[DerbyDad03]

Re-read the 2 suggested methods and see if you can figure out what I meant.

[DerbyDad03]

I just spoke to a very nice gentleman (Scott) in the product development department at Master Lock. He confirmed my concerns related to the battery slot.

When the battery slot is opened to the "battery jump" position, it does indeed disconnect the battery that is installed in the lock. If someone then damages the slot such that it cannot be pushed back in or jumped, the lock will be disabled.

Scott explained that lock security is a "double edged sword" and it's always difficult to balance user friendly features with lock security. Even with their standard 1500 series dial locks, if someone wants to be a jerk (his word) and pop the dial off, there is not much they can do to prevent that. With the electronic lock, if someone wants to be a jerk and damage the batttery slot, well, then the lock will be disabled. They needed a way to allow users to open the lock if the battery died and the jump slot was the method chosen.

So I have a question...

Scott said that the battery gets disconnected because you wouldn't want a dead battery in the circuit when trying to jump it. Therefore, good battery or dead, it's gets disconnected when the battery slot is opened to the jump position.

Isn't there a way to wire the battery such that the dead battery wouldn't stop a good battery from jumping it? If the installed battery was not disconnected when the slot was opened to the jump position, then damaging the slot wouldn't (might not) disable the lock. Yes, there are still lots of other ways to disable the lock, but if the battery remained in the circuit even when the slot was opened by a vandal, then mangling the slot would (might) be eliminated as a disabling method.

[Evan]

Why are you so worried about this kind of lock, does your local school district allow students to bring in and use their own locks ? If not then it is a moot point... Snap off the dial on a 1525 combo lock and the school still has the master key in the back, put glue in that and the custodian has bolt cutters...

You seem worried about a most unlikely scenario on several levels: given that all schools need the ability to conduct locker searches for school safety without notice they won't be allowing the use of non-school provided locks to which they have no supervisory access as that would mean phone calls from pissed off parents when the locks are cut off with the aforementioned bolt cutters thus destroying the personal property of the students...

As far as your concerns about mangling the battery slot, that is done intentionally so that it would not be possible for a vandal to cause the battery inside the lock to burst or catch fire by applying hazardous voltages to the terminals... There is no need to expose customers to battery goo...